Where does “taunt” come from?

Taunt comes from Middle French tanter, from Old French tempter, from Latin tempto, ultimately from Latin teneo meaning to hold.

taunt (English): To make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner

Definitions

  1. To make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner

Ancestry of “taunt”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchtanterto tempt, try, provoke
2Old Frenchtempterto tempt; to act as a temptation
3Latintemptōto test the strength; to make an attack upon
4Latintendōto stretch, stretch out, distend, extend
5Ancient Greekτένωνtendon, sinew
6Proto-Indo-Europeanten-to stretch, to extend

Words derived from “taunt”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ten- →Every word from Ancient Greek τένων →Every word from Latin tendō →